The 2017 FOX Racing Shox 36 TALAS 29 160 130 3Pos Adj FIT4 Fork 51mm Rake is something of a unicorn, blending climbing prowess and descending ability into one exceptionally versatile package. It offers 30mm of adjustable travel with the flip of a switch so you can confidently tackle rowdy drops and technical trails without losing efficiency on the ascents.The fork's adjustable travel allows riders to drop the front end to a trail worthy 130mm of travel for enhanced climbing efficiency without the unwieldy feel inherent in longer travel forks. Suddenly, pedaling up long fire roads, steep singletrack, and unrelenting switchbacks is much easier, allowing you to save energy for the wicked descent. And when it's time to get rowdy on the downhill, simply flick the TALAS switch to its maximum setting for 160mm of plush, terrain gobbling travel.The FIT4 Damper's puffed out, 10mm shaft increases oil flow to the base valve, allowing the fork to ride high for quick, controlled recovery during everything from big, square hits to successive, small impacts. The 3 position FIT4 system also takes the reigns from the old CTD system, changing the names from the overly prescriptive categories of Climb, Trail, and Descend to a graduating scale covering Firm, Medium, and Open. While this change may read like an exercise in semantics, it entails a radical realignment of the 36 Float's capabilities that addresses virtually every issue we've had with CTD's damper in the past.FIT4 also migrates the adjustable sub settings from CTD's median Trail mode to the new Open setting. Open encompasses both Descend and Trail in order to take full advantage of the fork's high ride by handling most compression duties. This makes the fork that much more relevant to all mountain situations, combining better small bump compliance with more confident tracking through rock gardens and rough terrain.The Medium setting migrates much deeper into the firm side of compression than the Trail setting did, ...